Feedback 6/22

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Inequality fight must go on

Within the span of a week, I've read news accounts of men sentenced for raping an unconscious woman. As it happens, both have the last name "Turner." The first story was of a "promising college athlete" at a prestigious California university, sentenced to six months in jail for his crime. The second story is of a young man from a poor neighborhood in Rochester, New York. This man was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

It seems that if your first name is "Brock" rather than "Sante" and you're from a well-off family and attend college, you are judged by a different set of rules than someone with a less polished resume.

When I hear people talk about racial inequality and they state that things aren't as bad as they used to be, I try to get them to see that racial and economic inequality continue to be major issues in spite of the many accomplishments achieved and barriers broken down over the years.

Bernie Sanders gets it. He talks about these issues all the time. I hope that whatever happens in November, his message will continue to be heard and that people will actually listen and take action to continue fighting to end inequality, be it based on race, gender, religion, economic status, sexual preference, sexual identity, or political party.

We need to come together rather than continue pushing each other apart. It needs to start right here at home in Rochester.

MARTIN PETRELLA

A Republican vote for Hillary Clinton

Now that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee and Donald Trump is the best my party can offer me in a candidate for president, I have already decided my vote. I have been a registered Republican ever since I was old enough to vote, and I almost always helped select my party's nominee.

I worked for the Young Republicans while in college and sometime thereafter. I felt disloyal to my party when I did vote for a Democrat. No matter what mistakes or errors of judgement the Republican candidate made or would make, I still supported him.

This election will be different. My vote will be given to Hillary Clinton.

As an investor and landlord, I have a great deal of respect for the businessman Donald Trump. That respect ends there.

How can I, as a longtime Republican, give my approval to a person who has no political experience whatsoever on his resume?

I am completely turned off by anything Donald Trump has to say because he doesn't represent my Republican points of view. Anything he says seems to be focused on him first and then our country. He seems to have little respect for women who are less pretty than his wife and daughter.

Trump having been married three times does not set a good marriage role model as president. Many other issues as well will keep me from celebrating a Trump presidency.

I started out by saying that my vote will be cast for Hillary Clinton. In this case, I do not feel a sense of disloyalty, but rather good old common sense.

America needs a leader who has solid political experience. Hillary has this. We are familiar with all of the Clinton drama of years past, so it is just old news or more of the same. Our taxes are already supplying the Clintons with lifetime Secret Service, so that will just continue.

More than anything, I have been impressed with Hillary as she gets attacked from two sides, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, while still managing to keep her cool and dignity. What better person could be chosen to prepare America for and win its acceptance of a woman president than Hillary Clinton?

DOUGLAS ALLEN

Purpose of yoga has been lost

I felt nauseated reading the article about the pairing of yoga and alcohol (Summer Guide, June 1). We have already managed to Westernize, materialize, and distort yoga into a glorified aerobics class complete with a blaring Dave Matthews Band soundtrack and loads of sweaty folks wearing overly-tight, overly-priced clothing. Please, to those who teach these classes, have a grain of respect for the tradition of yoga: a practice and a discipline which aims to align the body and the mind by slowing the hectic-ness of our thoughts through breath and movement.

The goal of yoga is not to be the skinniest b**** with the most advanced body contortion. The goal is to make your body and mind flexible and strong enough to sit in meditation comfortably. Somewhere along the way, teachers have missed the point entirely and are providing a gross disservice to students whose first experience with yoga is paired with a drink.

Now, I am not one to refuse a delicious beer or three, but as a yoga practitioner for over 20 years and a yoga instructor for 15, I am horrified that you call this experience "yoga." Please, call it what it is, "stretching and drinking," even "asana and drinking." But it is most definitely NOT yoga. Secondly, up your insurance policy if you continue to teach this, because invariably someone will get hurt.

TINA MURTY

On RCSD's superintendent search

I hope when our new superintendent arrives that he assesses what's working and what's not and from this assessment see what needs to be tweaked or tossed rather than coming in thinking that he has the magic pill. This often seems to be the issue when we get new folks.